Printing index images and file information together

ABSTRACT

An image forming apparatus is provided with a data retrieving unit that retrieves index image data and associating file information corresponding to files from a recording medium. The index image data and associating file information are allocated to a plurality of arrangement sections. The index image data and associating file information may be printed on a printing sheet in accordance with a predetermined layout. A judging unit is provided to judge whether the associating file information is less than or equal to a predetermined length. The associating file information which is longer than the predetermined length is normally printed incompletely so as to be printed within the arrangement section. A layout modifying unit is provided to modify the predetermined layout for the arrangement section if the associating file information is longer than the predetermined length so that the associating file information is printed completely on the printing sheet.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/776,545 filed on Jul. 11, 2007, which claimspriority from Japanese Patent Applications No. 2006-191561 filed on Jul.12, 2006, No. 2006-195005 filed on Jul. 18, 2006, and No. 2006-195006filed on Jul. 18, 2006, the disclosures of which are incorporated hereinby reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having afunction of printing index images and associating file informationcorresponding to a plurality of files.

2. Related Art

Conventionally, image forming apparatuses having a function of printingindex images have been known. An example of the index image printingfunction is disclosed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No.P2000-332985A (hereinafter, referred to as '985 publication). Accordingto a method of printing the index images disclosed in '985 publication,a plurality of image data files stored in the same folder are selected,and then, setting of a size of one index image, setting of attributionprinting information, and setting of fonts and printer, if necessary,are made. Then, the selected images are converted to index images,arranged in accordance with a predetermined layout automatically, andprinted together with the attribution (associating) information. Theattribution information may include a file name, title of the imagedata, and file update date/time for each image data file. Therefore,according to the index printing described in '985 publication, there isnot necessary for a user to perform a relatively complicated process ofsetting a layout of the index images and/or the attribution printinginformation.

In some cases, however, the user need to refer to a file name toidentify a desired file from among a plurality of files of which indeximages are arranged on one sheet. For example, when an index image iscreated based on a first page of a text document, only a train of dotscorresponding to a text may be shown on the index image and the user maynot be able to distinguish between such images. In another example, whenrevised versions of a certain document, such as a report, are made, thefirst page thereof may be unchanged and only part of its contents arerevised. In such a case, the index images created based on the firstpage of such revised versions of the same report would be the same, and,typically, the file names differentiated by adding a revision number atthe end of the file name. As above, if the user cannot identify thedesired file from the index images, the user may refer to the filenames.

However, according to the conventional image forming apparatus employingthe index image printing method, as disclosed in '985 publication, ifthe file name is relatively long, the entire file name cannot be printedon a printing sheet when the index image is printed. In such a case, theuser cannot identify a desired file based on the file name, and has toprint each document itself to check the contents thereof.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is advantageous in that an improved image formingapparatus is provided, which apparatus is free from the deficienciesdescribed above and enables a user to identify a desired file from theindex images.

According to aspects of the invention, there is provided an imageforming apparatus, which is provided with a data retrieving unit thatretrieves a plurality of pieces of index image data and associating fileinformation respectively corresponding to a plurality of files from arecording medium, a data allocating unit that allocates the plurality ofpieces of index image data and associating file information to aplurality of arrangement sections, respectively, a printing unit thatprints out the plurality of pieces of index image data and associatingfile information on a printing sheet in accordance with a predeterminedlayout of the plurality of arrangement sections, a judging unit thatjudges whether each of the plurality of pieces of the associating fileinformation is less than or equal to a predetermined length. Theassociating file information which is less than or equal to thepredetermined length may be printed completely within the arrangementsection while the associating file information which is longer than thepredetermined length may be printed incompletely within the arrangementsection. A layout modifying unit is further provided, which modifies thepredetermined layout of the plurality of arrangement sections if thejudging unit determines that at least one of the plurality of pieces ofthe associating file information is longer than the predetermined lengthso that the associating file information longer than the predeterminedlength can be printed on the printing sheet completely.

Optionally the layout modifying unit may create an auxiliary area, theassociating file information longer than the predetermined length isprinted in the auxiliary area completely.

Additionally, reference information linking the incompletely printedassociating file information with the completely printed associatingfile information may be printed both in the arrangement section and theauxiliary area.

The layout modifying unit may be configured to expand an arrangementsection corresponding to the associating file information which islonger than the predetermined length so that the associating fileinformation is printed completely within the corresponding arrangementsection.

Optionally, the predetermined layout includes an arrangement areaincluding the plurality of the arrangement sections. In this case, thelayout modifying unit may be configured to define an auxiliary area ifthe judging unit determines that at least one of the plurality of piecesof the associating file information is longer than the predeterminedlength, the at least one of the plurality of pieces of the associatingfile information judged to be longer than the predetermined length beingprinted entirely within the auxiliary area.

The arrangement sections may be printed in row and column directions ina matrix, and the layout modifying unit may be configured to include alength detecting unit that detects a length of the plurality of fileidentification information, a selecting unit that selects apredetermined number of pieces of the file identification information,and an allocating system that allocates the file identificationinformation selected by the selecting unit to the arrangement sectionsarranged on the same row.

Further optionally, the arrangement sections may be printed in row andcolumn directions in a matrix, and the layout modifying unit may beconfigured to include an indication judging unit that judges whether theentire arrangement information can be indicated within the arrangementsection, an expanding unit that expands the arrangement section in oneof the row and column directions if the indication judging unit judgesthat the entire arrangement information cannot be indicated within thearrangement section, and a blank portion defining unit that defines anarrangement section adjacent to the arrangement section expanded by theexpanding unit as a blank portion to allow the expansion thereof. Thefile identification information of which the length exceeds apredetermined length may be indicated in the expanded arrangementsection.

According to other aspects of the invention, there is provided acomputer usable medium having computer readable instructions storedthereon, which instructions cause a computer to execute an image formingprocess. The process includes the steps of retrieving a plurality ofpieces of index image data and associating file information respectivelycorresponding to a plurality of files from a recording medium connectedto the computer, allocating the plurality of pieces of index image dataand associating file information to a plurality of arrangement sectionsdefined in a memory of the computer, respectively, printing theplurality of pieces of index image data and associating file informationon a printing sheet in accordance with a predetermined layout of theplurality of arrangement sections, judging whether each of the pluralityof pieces of the associating file information is less than or equal to apredetermined length. The associating file information which is lessthan or equal to the predetermined length may be printed completelywithin the arrangement section, while the associating file informationwhich is longer than the predetermined length may be printedincompletely within the arrangement section. There is also provided thestep of modifying the predetermined layout of the plurality ofarrangement sections if at least one of the plurality of pieces of theassociating file information is judged to be longer than thepredetermined length so that the associating file information longerthan the predetermined length can be printed on the printing sheetcompletely.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a laser printer to which the presentinvention is applicable.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an electricalconfiguration of the laser printer shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a configuration ofa controller, which controls operation of the laser printer shown inFIG. 1, according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 4 an example of a printing result when an index image printingprocess according to the first embodiment is executed.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show examples of indications before (FIG. 5A) and after(FIG. 5B) the index image is printed, which indications are displayedwhen a panel displaying process according to the first embodiment isexecuted.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the index image printing processaccording to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the panel displaying processaccording to the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating, with the flowchart shown in FIG. 9,the index image printing process according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating, with the flowchart shown in FIG. 8,the index image printing process according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a configuration ofthe controller, which controls operation of the laser printer shown inFIG. 1, according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 11 an example of a printing result when an index image printingprocess according to the second embodiment is executed.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating the index image printing processaccording to the second embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a configuration ofthe controller, which controls operation of the laser printer shown inFIG. 1, according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 14 an example of a printing result when an index image printingprocess according to the third embodiment is executed.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating the index image printing processaccording to the third embodiment.

FIG. 16 schematically shows a data structure of arranging areainformation (in an initial state) stored in a buffer area shown in FIG.13.

FIG. 17 schematically shows the data structure of arranging areainformation in a state where arrangement flags for arrangement sectionhas been set.

FIG. 18 schematically shows the data structure of arranging areainformation in a state where arrangement flags for arrangement sectionhas been set.

FIG. 19 schematically shows the data structure of arranging areainformation in a state where arrangement flags for all the arrangementsections have been set.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Referring to the accompanying drawings, embodiments according to thepresent invention will be described in detail.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a laser printer 1 to which the presentinvention can be applied. It should be noted that the laser printer isan example of the image forming apparatus to which the invention isapplicable.

The laser printer 1 has a function of printing an index image which is acollection of a plurality of index images and associating fileidentification information (hereinafter, referred to as file IDinformation) respectively corresponding to a plurality files. Each ofthe index images and associating file ID information is arranged withina arrangement section 42 (see FIG. 4) defined on a predeterminedarrangement area 41 (see FIG. 4) of the printing sheet 3.

The laser printer 1 has a casing 2. On a lower side of the laser printer1, a sheet feed cassette 4 is provided for accommodating a stack ofprinting sheet 3. On an upper surface of the casing 2, a sheet ejectiontray 5 is formed. On one side of the sheet ejection tray 5, an operationunit 6 is provided. The operation unit;6 is for operating the laserprinter 1, and includes an operation button 7 for inputting operationcommands and a display panel 8 for displaying various data. On one sidesurface of the casing 2, a power switch 9 for turning ON/OFF the laserprinter 1 is provided. On a front surface of the casing 2 (i.e., on thesurface from which the sheet feed cassette 4 is withdrawn), a USB port10 is formed, through which a USB cable and external storage devicessuch as a USB memory can be connected.

FIG. 2 schematically shows an electric configuration of the laserprinter 1 shown in FIG. 1.

The laser printer 1 includes a belt driving roller 11 and a drivenroller 12 are arranged inside the casing 2. A sheet feed belt 3 is woundaround the belt driving roller and the driven roller 12, and the beltdriving roller 11 is rotated to move the sheet feed belt 13 in acounterclockwise direction in FIG. 2. On an upstream side of the beltdriving roller 11 and driven roller 12 (i.e., below the driven roller 12in FIG. 2), a sheet feed section 14 is defined. At the sheet feedsection 14, each printing sheet 3 is picked up from the sheet feedcassette 4 and fed to an image formation section 15.

In the image formation section 15, image forming units 16Y, 16M, 16C and16K are arranged along a sheet feed direction of the sheet feed belt 13.The image formation units 16Y, 16M, 16C and 16K accommodate yellow (Y),magenta (M), cyan (C) and black (K) toners therein, and form (overlay)toner images of respective colors on the printing sheet 3 fed by thesheet feed belt 13. On a downstream side of the image forming units16Y-16K, a fixing section 17 is defined. The visible toner image formedon the printing sheet 3 is fixed at the fixing section 17.

On the downstream side of the image formation section 15, a sheetejection section 18 is defined. The printing sheet 3, on which an imageis formed by the image formation section 15, is ejected onto the sheetejection tray 5.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a controller19 (see also FIG. 2). The controller 19 is a kind of well-known computerand executes processing/operating data under control of a CPU 21. TheCPU 21 is connected with an input/output interface (I/O interface) 22, aROM (Read Only Memory) 23, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 24, an HDD (HardDisk Drive) 25 and a USB interface (USB I/F) 26.

The CPU 21 performs processing/operation of data as described above, theI/O interface 22 is connected with the operation button 7, the displaypanel 8, the power switch 9, the sheet feed section 14, the imageformation unit 16, the fixing section 17 and the sheet dischargingsection 18.

The ROM 23 is a read-only non-volatile memory and stores various piecesof data and various kinds of programs. In particular, the ROM 23 storesan index image printing program 27 for executing an index image printprocess and a panel display program 28 for executing a panel displayprocess.

The index image printing program 27 (the index image printing process)is for printing index images and file ID information associating withthe index images. The index image printing process will be described indetail, referring to FIG. 6.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a printing result when the image printingprogram 27 is executed. As shown in FIG. 4, on the printing sheet 3, aplurality of image arrangement sections 42 are arranged in a rowdirection (i.e., X direction) and a column direction (i.e., Ydirection), as a matrix, within an arranging area 41. Each arrangementsection 42 includes an index image arranging area 43 in which the indeximage is allocated, and a file ID information arranging area 44 forindicating the file ID information corresponding to the index imagedisplayed in the index image arranging area 43 in the same imagearrangement section 42. Specifically, according to the first embodiment,within the file ID information arranging area 44, a serial numberdisplay area 45 for displaying a serial number assigned to eacharrangement section 42, a file ID information display area 46, and anupdate information display area 47 are provided. In this embodiment, thefile ID information display area 46 is configured to display the entirefile ID information 21 if the number of letters/characters/symbols(hereinafter, simply expressed as “letters” for brevity) of the file IDinformation is 21 (twenty-one) or less (including extension). However,if the number of letters of the file ID information is 22 or more, onlya part of the information (i.e., from a top to an intermediate portionof the letters of the file ID information (such a part of theinformation will be referred to as a clipped file ID information 50) isdisplayed in the file ID information display area 46.

In this specification, a term “index image” represents a small imageconverted from the data stored in each file which may be image data filecreated by a digital camera, text data file, and the like. The indeximage of the text data file is an image file in which letters of thetext data file is converted into image data. A term “file information”represents information related to the file. The file information mayinclude, for example, a file name, a file path name, property of data(e.g., create date, update date, creator, etc., trains of text at a topportion of the file when the file is a text data file. A term “serialnumber” represents the serial number assigned to each arrangementsection 42. A term “file ID information” represents one of pieces ofinformation contained in the file information, and one for identifyingrespective files. For example, the file information may contain a filename and/or a train of text of the data, extension, and the like. A term“update information” represents data related to update of the file. Forexample, the file ID information may contain a date (y/m/d) and time(h/m).

As shown in FIG. 4, on the printing sheet 3, an auxiliary area 48 isprovided outside the arrangement area 41. In the auxiliary area 48,supplementary information regarding the file information is printed. Forexample, the entire file ID information, of which clipped information isprinted in the arrangement area 41, is printed in the auxiliary area 48together with reference information 49.

Incidentally, a panel display program 28 shown in FIG. 3 is, whenexecuted by the CPU 21, for executing a panel display process (describedlater) to display file ID information on the display panel 8.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show examples of indications displayed on the displaypanel 8 when the panel display process is executed. In this example,FIG. 5A shows an example before the index image printing is performed,and FIG. 5B shows an example after the index image printing has beenperformed.

On the display panel 8, the file ID information (e.g., “1.jpg”) isdisplayed together with the serial number (e.g., “No. 1”). If the numberof letters of the file ID information exceeds a predetermined number(see No. 2 of FIG. 5A), only a part of (i.e., from the top to anintermediate portion of) the file ID information is displayed on thedisplay panel 8 before the index image printing is executed. After theindex image printing is finished, the reference information 49 isdisplayed (see No. 2 of FIG. 5B) instead of the part of the file IDinformation.

Back to FIG. 3, the RAM 24 is a readable/writable volatile memory andstores various types of data and programs. As shown in FIG. 3, the RAM24 is provided with a buffer area 29, a memory 300 and a display memory31. The buffer area 29 is for storing index images and file informationto be used when the index image is printed. The memory 30 is for storingthe entire file ID information if the number of the letters exceeds thepredetermined number. The display memory 31 is for storing the referenceinformation 49 to be displayed on the display panel 8.

The HDD 25 is a readable/writable storage (non-volatile).

The USB I/F 26 is for outputting/inputting data to/from an externalstorage such as a USB memory 32 connected to the USB port 10 (see FIG.1).

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an index image printing process whichis performed when the index image printing program 27 shown in FIG. 3 isexecuted by the CPU 21.

The index image printing program 27 is retrieved from the ROM 23 andwritten in the RAM 24, and is executed when, for example, the USB memory32 storing image files and/or document files is inserted into the USBport 10, and the index image printing command is input through theoperation button 7.

When the index image printing process is started, in S1 (step 1) theprocess initializes arrangement area information stored in the bufferarea 29 so that the data used for previously performed index imageprinting process is deleted. The arrangement area information isinformation related to the arrangement area 41 (see FIG. 4). Forexample, the arrangement information includes a set range of thearrangement area 41, the number of the arrangement sections 42 which canbe arranged in the row and column direction within the arrangement area41 (see FIG. 4), a set range of one arrangement section 42, informationrepresenting whether data is allocated to the each arrangement section42, the size of the index image which can be allocated to the indeximage arrangement area 43, condition of data arranged in the fileinformation arrangement area 44 (e.g., a method of assigning the serialnumber, the number of letters which can be arranged within the file IDinformation display area 46, a method of displaying the updateinformation, a type of the data arranged within the file informationarrangement area 44, etc.). According to the first embodiment, the indeximages and associating file ID information are arranged from the left toright, and from the top to bottom in the arrangement area 41, in theorder of retrieval.

In S2, the process retrieves one file from the USB memory 32. Then, inS3, the process analyzes the retrieved file and obtains the index imagedata of the file and file information of the retrieved file. In S4, theprocess obtains the arrangement area information from the buffer area29. In S5, the process stores the index image obtained in S3 in thebuffer area 29 so that the index image corresponds to the arrangementarea 43 of the predetermined arrangement section 42 based on thearrangement area information obtained in S4.

In S6, the process judges whether the number of letters of the file IDinformation included in the file information obtained in S3 is withinthe predetermined number or greater. The predetermined number of lettersis the maximum number of the letters which can be allocated to the fileID information display area 46. That is, if the number of letters of thefile ID information is equal to or less than the predetermined number(i.e., the maximum number), the entire file ID information can beprinted within the file ID information display area 46. According to thefirst embodiment, the maximum number is 21.

If the number of letters of the file ID information is equal to or lessthan the predetermined number (S6: YES), the process stores the fileinformation obtained in S3 in the buffer area 29 in correspondence withthe file ID information display area 46 of the predetermined arrangementarea 42 (S7). Then, in S8, the process updates the arrangement areainformation in the buffer area 29. With the above process, one of thefiles stored in the USB memory 32 has been arranged to one of thearrangement sections 42. After S8, the process proceeds to S9.

If the number of letters of the file ID information contained in thefile information obtained in S3 is greater than the predetermined number(S6: NO), it is impossible to print all the letters of the file IDinformation within the file ID information display area 46. In such acase, the process stores the file ID information (of which the number ofletters is greater than the predetermined number) in the memory 30.

In S11, the process replaces the file ID information stored in thememory 30 with the clipped file ID information 50 and the referenceinformation 49. The clipped file ID information is configured such thata symbol “˜” is inserted between a leading character string and theextension so that the clipped portion can be identified. The referenceinformation 49 is created such that the clipped file ID information andnon-clipped (i.e., original) file ID information are related with eachother. According to the first embodiment, the reference information 49is configured to include an asterisk “*” and a serial number assigned tothe file ID information of which the number of letters exceeds thepredetermined number.

In S12, the process stores the replaces file information, which includesthe reference information 49, in the buffer area 29 in correspondencewith the file ID information display area 46 of the predeterminedarrangement area 42.

In S13, the process calculates the size of the necessary auxiliary area48, and updates the arrangement area information in the buffer area 29.Specifically, the process calculates the set range (i.e., an area) ofthe auxiliary area 48 necessary for placing the file ID informationstored in the memory 30, and reduces the set range (area) of thearrangement area 41 by the calculated amount of the auxiliary area 48.With this process, the arrangement area 41 and the auxiliary area 48 canbe arranged on the same printing sheet 3. Then, the process proceeds toS9.

In S9, the process judges whether the arrangement area 41 is full ofdata. This step is executed to check whether the index images andassociating file information are arranged in all the arrangementsections 42 in the arrangement area 41.

If the arrangement area 41 is full of data (S9: YES), even if data isfurther retrieved from the USB memory 32, there is no arrangementsections 42 on which further index images or the file information areallocated. In such a case, in S14, the process checks whether there isfile ID information in the memory 30. If there is no file ID informationin the memory 30 (S14: NO), no information to be printed in theauxiliary area 48 exists. Therefore, in S15, the process prints out theindex images and associating file information stored in the buffer area29 to form the index image. Then, the process proceeds to S16.

If there remains file ID information in the memory 30 (S14: YES), theprocess stores the file ID information in the memory 30 in the bufferarea 29 together with the reference information 49 in correspondencewith the auxiliary area 48. Then, in S19, the process prints out thedata in the buffer area 29 on the printing sheet 3. With this process,the index images stored in S5 and the file ID information stored in S7,or the clipped file ID information 50 and the reference information 49stores in S50 are printed in the arrangement area 41 of the printingsheet 3. Further, the non-clipped file ID information, which is clippedin the arrangement area 41, is printed together with the referenceinformation 40. Then, the process proceeds to S16.

In S16, the process judges whether there remain retrievable files in theUSB memory 32. This step is for checking whether there remain furtherfiles to be subjected to the index image printing. If no retrievablefiles remain in the USB memory 32 (S16: NO), which means that the indeximage for all the flies stored in the USB memory 32 has been printed,and the process terminates the index image printing process.

If there remains a retrievable file in the USB memory 32 (S16: YES), inorder to print another index image for the remaining files on the nextprinting sheet 3, the process initializes the arrangement areainformation in the buffer area 29. With this step, the set range of thearrangement areas 41 which is set in printing the previous index imageis initialized. Further, the index images and associating fileinformation arranged in the arrangement sections 42 are deleted. Then,the process returns to S2, and steps as described above are repeated toprint the index image for the files remaining in the USB memory 32.

If the index images and associating file information has not beenassigned to one of more of the arrangement area 41 (S9: NO), the processchecks whether there remains a retrievable file in the USB memory 32.That is, the process judges whether there remain a file subjected to theindex image in the USB memory 32. If there remain retrievable files inthe USB memory 32 (S20: YES), the process retrieves one file from theUSB memory 32 and returns to S2 to arrange the index image of theretrieved file within the arrangement section 42 (S2).

If no retrievable files remain in the USB memory 32 (S20: NO), theprocess checks, in S21, whether there is file ID information in thememory 30. If there is no file ID information in the memory 30 (S21:NO), the process prints out the index image regarding the buffer area 29and terminates the process shown in FIG. 6.

If there remains the file ID information in the memory 30 (S21: YES),the process stores the file ID information and the reference information49 in the memory 30 in the buffer area 29 so as to correspond to theauxiliary area 48 so that the entire file ID information and thereference information 39 are printed in the auxiliary area 48 of theprinting sheet 3. Then, in S24, the process prints the index image andfile ID information stored in the buffer area 29 as in S19, and finishesthe process.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a panel display process which isperformed when the panel display program 28 shown in FIG. 3 is executedby the CPU 21.

The panel display program 28 is retrieved from the ROM 23 and written inthe RAM 24, and is executed when, for example, the file ID informationdisplay command is input through the operation button 7.

When the panel display process is started, in S31, the process retrievesa file from, for example, the USB memory 32. Then, in S32, the processjudges whether there is data in the display memory 31. With thisjudgment, the process determines whether the file ID information is tobe displayed on the display panel 8 or the reference information 49 isto be displayed.

If no data is stored in the display memory 31 (S32: NO), the processdisplays the file ID information on the display panel 8 together withthe serial number of the arrangement section 42 corresponding to theindex printing (S35). In this case, if the number of letters of the fileID information is equal to or less than the predetermined number, theentire file ID information is displayed on the display panel 8. If thenumber of letters of the file ID information is greater than thepredetermined number, only a displayable portion, from the top, of thefile ID information is displayed on the display panel 8.

If the process judges that there is data in the display memory 31 (S32:YES), the process retrieves the reference information 49 stored in thedisplay memory 31 (S33). Then, in S34, the process replaces the file IDinformation of the retrieved file with the reference information 49stored in the display memory 31. Then, in S35, the process displays thereference information 49 together with the serial number of the indeximage on the display panel 8 (see FIG. 5B).

As described above, according to the first embodiment, if the entirefile ID information,“Testdata_(—)031620061700_bunsho¥20060222¥bunshodata¥version1.PDF” (seeFIG. 4; No. 2) cannot be printed within the arrangement section 42 ofthe arrangement area 41 as the number of letters exceeds thepredetermined number (i.e., which is 21 according to the firstembodiment) (see S6 of FIG. 6), the clipped file ID information“Testdata˜.PDF” is printed in the arrangement section 42 with the indeximage, and the entire file ID information (i.e.,“Testdata_(—)031620061700_bunsho¥20060222¥bunshodata¥version1.PDF”)corresponding to the clipped file ID information (“Testdata˜.PDF”) isprinted in the auxiliary area 48 (see FIG. 6; S21, S23 and S24), theuser can identify the file referring to the entire file, ID informationprinted in the auxiliary area 48.

In some cases, for example, the arrangement section 42 having the serialnumber “No. 6” in FIG. 6, when the initial character strings areconverted into the index image and printed on the index imagearrangement area 43, the character strings may be indicated as series ofdots. In other cases, as indicated by the serial numbers “No. 2”, “No.3” and “No. 4” in FIG. 4, first pages of a plurality of files aresubstantially the same, but contents thereof have been revised so thatthe file names thereof are differentiated by adding version numbers, theuser has a difficulty in distinguishing the files by the index imagesthereof. In the above cases, even if the file ID information has arelatively large number of letters, the user can recognize respectivefiles referring to the file ID information, which is printed on the sameprinting sheet 3 on which the corresponding index images are printed.

Although the clipped file ID information 50 and non-clipped file IDinformation are printed at separate portions on the printing sheet 3,since the reference information 49 which represents the correspondencebetween the clipped file ID information and non-clipped file IDinformation is added to the clipped file ID information 50 in thearrangement section 42 and the entire file ID information in theauxiliary area 48, the user can recognize the correspondencetherebetween relatively easily.

Further, the reference information 49 is also indicated on the displaypanel 8 (see FIG. 5B), the user can easily connect the informationdisplayed on the display panel 8 with the file ID information printed inthe auxiliary area 48 on the printing sheet 3 referring to the referenceinformation 49.

Still further, when the non-clipped file ID information is printed inthe auxiliary area 48 of the printing sheet 3, the area of thearrangement area 41 is reduced by the same amount necessary for printingthe entire file ID information in the auxiliary area 48 (see FIG. 6;S13), it is ensured that the index image, the clipped file IDinformation thereof and the non-clipped file ID information are printedon the same printing sheet 3.

Next, a second embodiment of the invention will be described referringto the laser printer 1. A hardware configuration of the laser printeraccording to the second embodiment is substantially the same. An indeximage printing process according to the second embodiment is differentfrom that of the first embodiment.

In the following description regarding the second embodiment, the indeximage printing process is described in detail. In the description anddrawings, elements, programs, etc. which are common with respect to thefirst embodiment, the same reference numerals are given, and descriptionthereof is simplified for brevity.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show a flowchart illustrating the index image printingprocess according to the second embodiment.

Similar to the first embodiment, after the initialization (S1), theprocess retrieves a file from the USB memory 32 (S2). If the number ofletters of the file ID information is equal to or less than thepredetermined number, the process allocate the index image and fileinformation retrieved from the USB memory 32 to the arrangement section42 to update the same, and proceeds to S9 (S1-S5, S6: YES, S8).

If the number of letters of the file ID information exceeds thepredetermined number, the process stores the file ID informationretrieved from the USB memory 32 n the memory 30. The, the processreplaces the file ID information with clipped file ID information 50 andreference information 49, and stores the file information including theclipped file ID information and the reference information 49 in thebuffer area 29. The process further stores the reference information inthe display memory 31, and proceeds to S9 (S6: NO, S10-S12). It shouldbe noted that, according to the second embodiment, the size of theauxiliary area 48 for displaying the file ID information is notcalculated, and the set area of the arrangement area 41 is not reducedcorrespondingly.

In S9, if the arrangement area 41 is full of data, the process printsout the index image data and the file ID information stored in thebuffer area 29 (in S6-S7, or S12) on the printing sheet 3 (S9: YES,S41). In S42, the process judges whether there remains a retrievablefile in the USB memory 32. If there is a retrievable file in the USBmemory 32, the process initializes the arrangement area of the bufferarea 29, returns to S2, and prints out the index image, i.e., the indeximages and file ID information, or index images, clipped file IDinformation and the reference information 49 (S42: YES, S43).

If there is no retrievable file in the USB memory 32 (S42: NO), theprocess judges whether there is file ID information in the memory 30(S44). If there is no file ID information in the memory 30 (S44: NO), itis unnecessary to print the file ID information in the auxiliary area 48which is outside the arrangement area 41.

If there is a retrievable file in the USB memory 32 (S44: YES), theprocess initializes the arrangement area information in the buffer area29 in S45, set the entire area of the printing sheet 3 as the auxiliaryarea 48, and stores the file ID information in the buffer area 29corresponding to the auxiliary area 48 (S46). Then, the process printsout the file ID information stored in the buffer area 29. In this case,the arrangement area is full of data (S9: YES), it is impossible to setthe auxiliary area 48 on the same printing sheet 3 on which thecorresponding index images and clipped file ID information 50.Therefore, the process set the auxiliary area 48 on another printingsheet 3, and prints out the file ID information and the referenceinformation 49. Thus, the file ID information is printed at the end ofthe index image printing.

If the arrangement area is not full of data (S9: NO), no retrievablefile remains in the memory 30 (S20: NO), and there is file IDinformation in the memory 30 (S21: YES), the process calculates the areaof the auxiliary area 48 for printing the file ID information in basedon the file ID information stored in the memory 30. In S49, the processjudges whether the calculated area of the auxiliary area 48 is smallerthan the remaining area of the printing sheet 3 after the set area ofthe arrangement area 41 is subtracted. Based on this judgment, it ispossible to determine whether the auxiliary area 48 is provided on thesame printing sheet 3 on which the index image is printed, or anotherprinting sheet 3 should be used for the auxiliary area 48.

If the set area of the auxiliary area 48 is the remaining area (S49:YES), the process stores the file ID information stored in the memory 30in the buffer area 29 corresponding to the auxiliary area 48. Then, inS51, the process prints out the data stored in the buffer area 29corresponding to the arrangement area 41 and the auxiliary area 48. Theis, the index image is printed on the printing sheet 3 by arranging theindex images and the file ID information or clipped file ID information50 in respective arrangement sections 42, and on the same printing sheet3, the auxiliary area 48 is provided outside the arrangement area 41,and the entire file ID information corresponding to the clipped file IDinformation is printed together with the reference information 49.

If the set area of the auxiliary area is larger than the remaining area(S49: NO), the printing sheet 3 may be changed to another one during alist of the file ID information is printed in the auxiliary area 48.Such a condition is not preferable since the file ID information isillegible. In order to avoid such a condition, after the processretrieves the index image data and file ID information or the clippedfile ID information corresponding to the arrangement area 41 and storedin the 29 and prints out the same in S52, the process initializes thearrangement area information of the buffer area 29 and the entireprinting sheet 3 is set as the auxiliary area 48 (S53). Then, in S54,the process stores the file ID information stored in the memory 30 inthe buffer area 29 corresponding to the auxiliary area 48. Therefore, atthis stage, the buffer area 29 does not store the index images, clippedfile ID information 50, or reference information 49 (the information tobe printed in the arrangement area 41), but only the information to beprinted in the auxiliary area 48 is stored. In S55, the processretrieves the file ID information and reference information 49, andprints the same on another printing sheet 3.

As above, if the auxiliary area 48 is larger than the remaining area ofthe printing sheet 4 excluding the arrangement area 41, the auxiliaryarea 48 is provided on another printing sheet 3, and is not provided onthe printing sheet 3 on which the index images and file ID informationare printed (FIG. 9, S49: YES, S53-S55). Thus, a list of the file IDinformation and reference information 49 corresponding to the clippedfile ID information are printed on the printing sheet 3, legibility isimproved. In this case, if the clipped file ID information is alsoindicated together with the reference information 49, the user canrecognize the correspondence between the clipped file ID information andreference information 49, and enables the user to identify the fileallocated to the arrangement sections 42.

The above-described first and second embodiments are merely illustrativeembodiments, and various modification can be made without departing fromthe scope of the invention.

For example, in the first and second embodiments, when the number ofletters of the file ID information exceeds the predetermined number, theclipped file ID information 50 and the reference information 40 areprinted in the file ID information indication section 46. Thisconfiguration may be modified such that only the reference information49 or the clipped file ID information 50 may be printed in the file IDinformation indication section.

In the first and second embodiments, the reference information 49 and acomplete character string of the corresponding file ID information areprinted in the auxiliary area 48. This configuration may be modifiedsuch that the serial number of the arrangement sections 42 may furtherbe printed in the auxiliary area 48 to clarify the correspondencebetween the files allocated to the arrangement sections 42 and the fileID information printed in the auxiliary area 48.

It may be possible to configure that only the file ID information isindicated in the auxiliary area 48 in order to reduce toner consumption.

In the first embodiment, the reference information 49 is displayed onthe display panel 8. This configuration may be modified such that thereference information 49 is displayed together with the clipped file IDinformation 50. Alternatively, only the clipped file ID information maybe displayed instead of the reference information 49. If the clippedfile ID information 50 is displayed on the display panel 8, it isadvantageous in that by referring to the file ID information printed inthe auxiliary area 48 of the printing sheet 3, the user can recognizethe complete information corresponding to the clipped file IDinformation displayed on the display panel 8.

Next, a laser printer according to a third embodiment of the inventionwill be described. The appearance of the laser beam printer 1 is thesame as the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

A hardware configuration of the laser printer 1 according to the thirdembodiment is substantially the same as that of the first and secondembodiments. Therefore, the same reference numerals are used for thesame components, and description thereof will be simplified for brevity.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of the controller 19 of the laser printer 1according to the third embodiment. According to the third embodiment,the ROM 23 stores the index image printing program 27 which, whenexecuted by the CPU 21, the index image printing process shown in FIG.12 is executed.

FIG. 11 shows an example of printing result when the index imageprinting process according to the third embodiment is executed. As shownin FIG. 12, and similarly to the first embodiment, on the printing sheet3, a plurality of image arrangement sections 42 are allocated in a rowdirection (i.e., X direction) and a column direction (i.e., Ydirection), as a matrix, within an arranging area 41. Each arrangementsection 42 includes the index image arranging area 43 and the file IDinformation arranging area 44. Further, within the file ID informationarranging area 44, the serial number display area 45, the file IDinformation display area 46, and the update information display area 47are provided.

According to the third embodiment, the file ID information display area46 is configured such that the maximum number of letters is 24(twenty-four). If the length of the file ID information exceeds 24letters, the file ID information is printed in a plurality of lines inthe file ID information display area 46. Therefore, the size of the fileID information display area 46 varies depending on the length of thefile ID information. In accordance with the variation of the file IDinformation display area 46, the size of the arrangement section 42varies (i.e., the length thereof in the Y direction varies). As a resultof the change of the length of the arrangement section 42, a distancebetween adjacent rows may vary, which will be described in detail.

According to the third embodiment, the index images area aligned in theorder of the length of the file ID information. Specifically, the indeximages are sorted in ascending order of the number of the letters of thefile ID information, and the arrangement sections 42, in which the indeximages and associating file ID information are allocated, are aligned inthis order from the left to right, and top to bottom.

The RAM 24 (see FIG. 10) includes a file ID information storing table 33and the buffer area 29. The file ID information storing table 28 is forstoring file ID information of the files retrieved from a storage, e.g.,the USB memory 32. The buffer area 29 stores the index images and fileinformation to be used when the index images are printed.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart illustrating the index image printing processwhich is performed when the index image printing program 27 is executedby the CPU 21. As mentioned above, when the index image printing processis performed, the index images and associating file ID information aresorted in the order of the number of the letters of the file IDinformation, in the ascending order, and the sorted index images and thefile ID information are allocated to the arrangement sections 42,respectively, which are printed on the printing sheet 3.

In S61, the process initializes the arrangement area information storedin the buffer area 29 to delete the arrangement information created inthe previous execution of the index image printing process.

In S62, the process retrieves all the files stored in the USB memory 32connected to the USB port 10, and stores the same in the RAM 24. In S63,the process extracts the file ID information from all the files storedin the RAM 24, and registers the same with the file ID informationstoring table 33. At this stage, the process registers the file IDinformation with the file ID information storing table 33 in the orderwhere the files are stored in the USB memory 32.

In S64, the process checks the length (i.e., the number of the letters)of the file ID information registered with the file ID informationstoring table 28, and sort the file ID information data in the ascendingorder of the number of the letters. Then, in S65, based on the result ofthe sort in S64, the order of the file arrangement is determined. Asdescribed above, according to the third embodiment, the files areallocated to the arrangement sections 42, respectively, from the smallnumber of letters to the larger number of letters.

In S66, the process obtains the arrangement area information from thebuffer area 29. When the arrangement area information is initialized, nodata is assigned to all the arrangement sections 42. A serial number isassigned to the arrangement sections 42 from the left to right, top tobottom. The serial number of each arrangement section 42 is indicated inthe serial number indication area 45.

In S;67, the process identify the file ID information having theshortest length among the file ID information which has not yetallocated to the arrangement sections 42, referring to the file IDinformation storing table 28. Then, the process obtains the index imageand the file information corresponding to the identified file IDinformation. It should be noted that whether the file ID information hasbeen allocated to the arrangement sections 42 or not can be judged usinga flag (0: not yet allocated; 1: allocated) which is set for each pieceof file ID information data. Such flags may be stored in another table.Since the usage of flags are well-known, detailed description thereof isnot provided for brevity.

Next, the process examines the arrangement area information obtained inS66, and in accordance with the serial number, the first arrangementsection 42 among those in which no data has been allocated. Then, theprocess allocates the index image data corresponding to the fileinformation onto the index image data arrangement area 43 of theextracted arrangement section 42, and the entire file ID informationincluded in the file information onto the file ID information displayarea 46 of the extracted arrangement section 42. Further, the processarranges the file update information included in the file information onthe update information display area 47 of the extracted arrangementsection 42.

As mentioned above, the length of the file ID information differs forrespective files. If the number of the letters of the file IDinformation exceeds the maximum number for a line of the file IDinformation display area 46 (i.e., 24 letters), the area of the file IDinformation display area 46 is expanded in the column direction (i.e.,Y-direction), and the file ID information is indicated in a plurality oflines. As the area of the file ID information display area 46 isexpanded, the area of the arrangement section 42 is expanded. When thearrangement section 42 is expanded in the Y-direction, the layout of thearrangement area 41 is changed such that a distance between the row ofthe expanded arrangement section 42 and the next row is elongated. Bychanging the layout of the arrangement area 41, the index images on thenext row are aligned along the row direction.

The arrangement section 42 to which the index image data and file IDinformation are allocated is stored in the buffer area 29. If the setrange (i.e., area) of the arrangement section 42 has been changed, asdescribed above, the information regarding the change of the area isalso stored in the buffer area 29.

In S68, the arrangement area information which has been changed as thedata is allocated to the arrangement section 42 in S67 is updated. Withthis step, one of the arrangement section 42 which was a blank sectionis filled with the index image data, serial number, file ID informationand update information. Further, if the area of the arrangement section42 has been expanded in the column direction, the layout of thearrangement section 42 is also updated.

In S69, the process refers to the arrangement area information of thebuffer area 29, and judges whether all the arrangement sections 42 arefilled with the index image data, file ID information and updateinformation, thereby judging whether the arrangement area 41 is filledwith data.

If there is a blank arrangement section 42, the process judges that thearrangement area 41 is not full of data (S69: NO). In such a case, theprocess judges whether there remains a file which is to be allocated toan arrangement section 42 by checking whether there remains the file IDinformation which has not yet been allocated to the arrangement section42, referring to the file ID information storing table 28 (S70). Ifthere remains the file ID information which has not allocated to thefile ID information storing table 28 (S70: YES), the process returns toS66. Then, the process allocates the index image data, file IDinformation and update information of the remaining file onto the nextarrangement section 42 which is a blank section by executing S66 and thefollowing steps.

When the process allocates the index image data, file ID information andthe update information of each file onto the arrangement section 42 inaccordance with the serial number, if all the file ID information of thefile ID information storing table 28 has been allocated to thearrangement sections 42 before the arrangement area 41 becomes full ofdata (S69: YES), the process judges that not files to be processedremain (S70: NO). Then, in S71, the process prints out the informationstored in the buffer area 29 on the recording sheet 3. That is, theprocess executes the index image printing such that the index imagedata, file ID information, update information and the serial number fromthe top of the arrangement section 42 to an intermediate one, andterminates the index image printing process.

If the file ID information has bee allocated to all the arrangementsections 42, and thus, the process judges that the arrangement area 41is full of data (S69: YES), the process prints out the data stored inthe buffer area 29. That is, the process executes the index printing sothat the index images, file ID information, update information and theserial numbers are indicated in all the arrangement sections 42. Then,in S73, the process judges whether there remains a file to be allocatedto the arrangement section 42 as in S70.

If there remains a file to be allocated (S73: YES), the processinitializes the arrangement area information in the buffer area 29 tocancel the data used in the previous index printing (S74). By executingS74, all the arrangement sections 42 become blank, and the distancebetween two rows is also initialized. Then, the process returns to S66,the process allocates the index image data and file ID information tothe arrangement sections 42 to perform the index image printing ontoanother printing sheet 3.

If there remains no file to be allocated (S73: NO), the process isterminated.

As described above, according to the third embodiment, if the length ofthe file ID information is too long and cannot be indicated in one linein the file ID information display area 46, the file ID informationdisplay area 46 is expanded so that the file ID information is indicatedin a plurality of lines. In addition, the file ID information is sortedbased on the length thereof, and a plurality of pieces of the file IDinformation together with the index image data are allocated to thearrangement sections 42 which are arranged in the row direction, in thesorted order. Therefore, all the file ID information can be legiblyarranged in the arrangement sections 42.

The arrangement section 42 of which the serial number is “No. 9” in FIG.11 shows the index image of a document file. That is, if the index imagedata corresponds to the character strings of a document file, thecharacters may be indicated as dots.

The arrangement sections 42 of which the serial numbers are “No. 7” and“No. 8” are index images of revised versions of a report of which anindex image is shown in the arrangement section 42 having the serialnumber “No. 2”. In this case, a numeral representing a version historyis added at the end portion of the file names of the revised versions.As is understood from FIG. 11, the user cannot distinguish the three“report” files based on the index images since they are the same. Theuser can identify each file based on the file ID information indicatedin the file ID information display area 46 since the entire file IDinformation is indicated in each file ID information display area 46.

According to the third embodiment, a plurality of pieces of the file IDinformation are sorted based on the length (i.e., the number of letters)thereof. Therefore, the files having the file ID information consists ofthe close of same number of letters are allocated to the arrangementsections 42 which are located close to each other. For example, the fileID information “testdata_(—)031620061700_TIFFbunsho_Ver1.PDF” and thefile ID information “testdata_(—)031620061700_TIFFbunsho_Ver2.PDF” havethe same number of letters. Such file ID information could be allocatedto the arrangement segments 42 on the same row. Therefore, the indeximages and the entire file ID information are printed legibly on theprinting sheet 3, which enables the user to recognize the contents ofthe documents or identify the desired document.

If the arrangement sections 42 containing relatively short file IDinformation and those containing relatively long file ID information arearranged on the same row, blank lines are included in the file IDinformation display area 46 for the sort file ID information. Such anarrangement of the arrangement sections 42 are illegible and printingefficiency is lowered. According to the third embodiment, since aplurality of the file ID information are sorted based on the lengththereof, the lengths of the file ID information in the same row aresubstantially the same. Therefore, unnecessary blank lines will not beincluded in the file ID information display area 46, which provides withlegible printout. Further, the printing efficiency is improved.

Further, according to the third embodiment, a distance between adjacentrows are adjusted so that the index images (i.e., arrangement areas 42)are aligned in each row. Therefore, both index images and file IDinformation are legibly printed on the printing sheet 3.

In the third embodiment, the file ID information is sorted in theascending order of the length. It can be modified that the sort is madein the descending order. According to another aspect, it may be possibleto calculate the printing efficiency within a predetermined area, forexample, based on the area (i.e., size) of the file ID informationdisplay area 46 (or, arrangement section 42) and determine the order ofthe arrangement of the files (index images and file ID information) sothat the printing sheet 3 is used efficiently. Since the file IDinformation is indicated in a plurality of lines if it is long, the sortof the file ID information may be executed based on the number of linesof the file ID information.

In the third embodiment, the file ID information storing table 28 isgenerated and the file ID information are sorted referring to the fileID information stored in the table 28. Alternatively, a file informationstoring table for containing all the file information may be generatedin the RAM 24. Then, a process may extract the file ID information fromthe file information storing table and examine the length of theextracted file ID information, and sort the file information stored inthe RAM 23.

Next, a laser printer 1 according to a fourth embodiment of theinvention will be described. The appearance of the laser beam printer 1is the same as the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

A hardware configuration of the laser printer 1 according to the fourthembodiment is substantially the same as that of the first, second andthird embodiments. Therefore, the same reference numerals are used forthe same components, and description thereof will be simplified forbrevity.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of the controller 19 of the laser printer 1according to the fourth embodiment. According to the fourth embodiment,the ROM 23 stores the index image printing program 27 which, whenexecuted by the CPU 21, the index image printing process shown in FIG.15 is executed. The RAM 24 includes a file storage area 34, the bufferarea 28, and an arrangement area information storage area 35 areprovided. The file storage area 34 is for storing files retrieved from arecording medium such as the USB memory 32. The arrangement areainformation storage area 35 is for storing information regarding whetherthe index image and file ID information are allocated to eacharrangement section 42.

FIG. 14 shows an example of printing result when the index imageprinting process according to the fourth embodiment is executed. Asshown in FIG. 15, and similarly to the first embodiment, on the printingsheet 3, a plurality of image arrangement sections 42 are allocated in arow direction (i.e., X direction) and a column direction (i.e., Ydirection), as a matrix, within an arranging area 41. Each arrangementsection 42 includes the index image arranging area 43 and the file IDinformation arranging area 44. Further, within the file ID informationarranging area 44, the serial number display area 45, the file IDinformation display area 46, and the update information display area 47are provided.

According to the fourth embodiment, the file ID information display area46 is configured such that the maximum number of letters is 24(twenty-four). If the length of the file ID information exceeds 24letters, the file ID information is printed in a plurality of lines inthe file ID information display area 46 (see the file ID informationdisplay area 46 in which “No. 2” is indicated. As shown in this example,the size of the file ID information display area 46 varies depending onthe length of the file ID information. In accordance with the variationof the file ID information display area 46, the size of the arrangementsection 42 varies (i.e., the length thereof in the Y direction varies).

According to the fourth embodiment, different from the third embodiment,when the file ID information display area 46 is expanded (i.e., if thefile ID information is indicated in two or more lines), the arrangementsection 42 next to the expanded arrangement section 42 in theY-direction is a blank section. Thus, in FIG. 14, a portion 48 below theexpanded arrangement section 42 (indicated as “No. 2”), no arrangementsection 42 is provided. As a result, the arrangement section 42 belowthe arrangement section 42 in which “No. 3” is indicated shows theindication of “No. 5”. As above, according to the fourth embodiment, thearrangement sections 42 in the same row are aligned, and a distancebetween two rows is stayed unchanged. In FIG. 14, the portion 48 and aportion 49 are blank portions since the arrangement sections 42 abovethese portions (i.e., “No. 2” and “No. 4” index images) are expanded asthe file ID information is indicated in a plurality of lines.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an index image printing processwhich is performed when the index image printing program 27 (see FIG.13) is executed by the CPU 21. Specifically, the index image printingprogram is executed such that the program is retrieved from the ROM 23and written in the RAM 24 when the user operates the operation unit;6and input a index image print command, under a condition where a storagesuch as the USB memory 32 is connected to the USB port 10. FIGS. 16-19show exemplary data structures of the arrangement area informationstoring area 35 shown in FIG. 13.

When the index image printing process according to the fourth embodimentis started, the process initializes the arrangement area informationstored in the buffer area 29 in S81. The arrangement area information ismanaged using a table shown in FIG. 16.

In the table shown in FIG. 16, arrangement flag areas 51-62 are providedfor each arrangement section number. The “arrangement section number” isa number assigned to each arrangement section 42 provide in thearrangement area 41. According to the fourth embodiment, there are 12(twelve) arrangement sections 42 (four rows, three arrangement sections42 for each row) in a matrix. To the arrangement sections 42, from theleft to right, top to bottom, the arrangement section numbers “1” to“12” are assigned. Each arrangement flag shows one of three states: noindex image or file ID information is allocated in the arrangementsection 42 (flag=0); an index image and file ID information have beenallocated in the arrangement section 42 (flag=1); and an index image orfile ID information cannot be allocated to the arrangement section 42(flag=2). When the arrangement area information is initialized, “0”(i.e., no data is allocated) is set to each of the arrangement flagareas 51-62. It should be noted that, in the arrangement areas havingthe numbers 10, 11 and 12, the file ID information which should beindicated in a plurality of lines (i.e., having more than 24 letters)cannot be allocated.

In S82, the process retrieves all the files stored in the USB memory 32connected to the USB port 10, and stores the retrieved files in the filestorage area 32 (see FIG. 13). In S83, the process obtains index imagedata and file information from each of the files stored in the filestorage area 32. Then, in S84, the process obtains the arrangement areainformation from the buffer area 29. At this stage, the obtainedarrangement area information is initialized information.

In S85, the process searches the information obtained in S84 to identifya first one of the arrangement sections 42 for which the arrangementflag has not been referred to. Then, the process judges whether thearrangement flag of the identified arrangement section 42 is “0”. Forexample, when the arrangement area information has been initialized, thefirst arrangement section 42 that does not refer to the arrangement flagis the arrangement section 42 corresponding to the arrangement sectionnumber “1” in FIG. 16. Thus, the process refers to the arrangement flagarea 51 (FIG. 16) to check the value of the arrangement flag.

Immediately after the initialization of the arrangement area informationhas been performed, the arrangement flag corresponding to thearrangement section number “1” is “0” (S85: YES). Therefore, the processretrieves the index image data and file information from the filestorage area 32, and allocate the same to the arrangement section 42corresponding to the arrangement section number “1”. Specifically, theprocess allocates: the index image data representing the contents of thefile to the index image data arrangement area 43 of the arrangementsection 42; the file ID information included in the file information tothe file ID information display area 46; update information included inthe file information to the update information display area 47; and theserial number assigned to the file to the serial number display area 45.

In S87, the process updates the arrangement area information. When thedata has been allocated in the arrangement section 42 corresponding tothe arrangement section number “1” as described above, the flag “1” isset to the arrangement flag area 51 corresponding to the arrangementsection number “1”, and the arrangement area information is rewritten.Therefore, the process updates the arrangement area information toensure that the arrangement area information reflects the update.Further, the process stores the index image data, file ID information,update information and serial number in the buffer area 29 correspondingto the area section number “1”.

In S88, the process confirms whether the arrangement flag “1” or “2”(but not “0”) is set to each of the arrangement flag areas 51-62referring to the arrangement are information stored in buffer area 29(i.e., the process confirms that the files are allocates to all thearrangement areas 42).

At this stage, in the arrangement area information in the buffer area29, the arrangement flag “0” is set to each of the arrangement flag area52-62 for the arrangement section number “1”, and no index image data orfile ID information has bee allocated to the arrangement sections 42corresponding to the arrangement section numbers 2-12 (S88: NO). Thus,in S89, the process judges whether there remains a retrievable file inthe file storing area 32. According to the fourth embodiment, when afile is retrieved from the file storing area 28 so as to be allocated toan arrangement section 42, the file is deleted from the file storingarea 28. Therefore, only files which have not yet been allocated to thearrangement sections 42 remain in the file storing area 32.

If there remains no retrievable file in the file storing area 32 (S89:NO), the process prints out the data stored in the buffer area 29corresponding to the arrangement area 42 on the printing sheet 3 (S90),and is terminated.

If there remains a retrievable file in the file storing area 32 (S89:YES), the process returns to S82. Then, the process retrieves a nextfile from the file storing area 32 (S82), and obtains the index imagedata and the file information from the retrieved data (S83). In S84, theprocess obtains the arrangement area information from the buffer area29. At this stage, the arrangement area information as shown in FIG. 17is obtained.

In S85 of FIG. 15, the process searches for the arrangement areainformation obtained in S84 (i.e., shown in FIG. 17), and identifies thearrangement section 42 corresponding to the arrangement area number “2”as the first arrangement area 42 to which the index image data has notbeen allocated, referring to the arrangement flag. Then, the processchecks the arrangement flag of the arrangement flag area 52 thatcorresponds to the arrangement area number “2”. Since the arrangementflag of the arrangement flag area 52 is “0” (S85: YES), the processstores the index image data and file information obtained in S83 in thebuffer area 29 corresponding to the arrangement section 42 whichcorresponds to the arrangement section number “2”.

Next, in S87, the process sets the arrangement flag “1” to thearrangement flag area 52 corresponding to the arrangement section number“2” as shown in FIG. 18. At this stage, as shown in FIG. 14, if the fileID information allocated to the arrangement section 42 corresponding tothe arrangement section number “2” exceeds 24 letters, the file IDinformation is indicated in the file ID information display area 46 in aplurality of lines. As a result, the area of the arrangement section 42corresponding to the arrangement section number “2” becomes larger thanits initial setting, and overlaps the arrangement section 42 for thearrangement section number “5”. Then, it becomes impossible to allocatethe data to the arrangement section 42 corresponding to the arrangementsection number “5”. Accordingly, in such a case, as shown in FIG. 18,the arrangement flag “2” is set to the arrangement flag area 55corresponding to the arrangement section number “5”. The arrangementarea information is rewritten as above, and then updated.

In S88, the process judges whether the files are allocated to all thearrangement sections 42. If there remains the arrangement sections 42 towhich files are not allocated (S88: NO), and if there remains aretrievable file in the file storing area 32 (S89: YES), the processreturns to S82 and above-described steps are executed to process theretrievable file remained in the file storing area 32. By repeating theabove steps, to the arrangement sections 42 corresponding to thearrangement section numbers 3 and 4, the index image data and the fileinformation are allocated.

The process proceeds and when the arrangement area information isobtained to check the arrangement flag for the arrangement number “5”,the arrangement flag “2” has been set to the arrangement flag area 55for the arrangement section number “5”. In this case, since thearrangement flag is not “0” (S85: NO), the process refers to thearrangement flag for the next arrangement section number (i.e., “6”) inS91, and returns to S85.

Since the arrangement flag for the arrangement section “6” obtained inS91 is “0” (S85: YES), the process allocates the index image data andthe file information obtained in S83 to the arrangement section 42corresponding to the arrangement section “6”. That is, as shown in FIG.14, the arrangement section 42 corresponding to the arrangement areanumber “5” is set as the blank portion 46, and the image data and fileinformation (i.e., the serial number, file ID information and updateinformation) are allocated to the arrangement section 42 on theright-hand side of the blank portion 48.

Repeating the above steps, if the process confirms in S88 that thearrangement flag “1” or “2” has been set to all the arrangement flagareas 51-62 as shown in FIG. 19, the process determines that files areallocated to all the arrangement sections 42 (S88: YES). In this case,in S92 of FIG. 15, the process prints out the index image data and thefile information (i.e., serial number, file ID information and updateinformation) stored in the buffer area 29 on the printing sheet 3. Then,in S93 (which is similar to S89), the process judges whether thereremains a retrievable file in the file storing area 32.

According to the fourth embodiment, to the arrangement sections 42corresponding to the arrangement section numbers 10-12, the file IDinformation that includes 24 letters or less can only be allocated.Therefore, if the file ID information corresponding to the arrangementsection number 10 has more than 24 letters, the process judges that thefiles have been allocated to all the arrangement sections 42, and theindex image data and the file information that were supposed to beallocated to the arrangement section 42 corresponding to the arrangementsection number 10 is printed on the next printing sheet. The data forthe arrangement sections 42 corresponding to the arrangement sectionnumbers 11 and 12 is treated similarly.

If there remains a retrievable file in the file storing area 32 (S93:YES), the process initializes the arrangement area information in S94.That is, as shown in FIG. 16, all the arrangement flags are set to “0”.At the same time, the index image data and file information having beenallocated to the arrangement sections 42 are cancelled. Then, theprocess returns to S82 and repeats the process for allocating theremaining files to the arrangement sections 42.

If there remains no retrievable file in the file storing area 32 (S93:NO), the process is terminated.

As described above, according to the fourth embodiment, if the file IDinformation is too long and cannot be indicated in one line (e.g., thecentral arrangement section of the first row in FIG. 14), thearrangement section 42 immediately below is made a blank portion, andthe arrangement section 42 in which the file ID information is to beindicated is expanded downward. Then, the entire file ID information isindicated in a plurality of lines. With this configuration, as shown inFIG. 14, a distance between the rows are fixed and the file IDinformation can be printed legibly on the printing sheet 3.

According to the fourth embodiment, if the file ID information is longerthan the predetermined length, the arrangement section located below ismade as a blank portion and the arrangement section for the file IDinformation is expanded downward. The invention can be modified suchthat, instead of expanding the arrangement section downward, the file IDinformation longer than the predetermined length may be indicated toextend, regardless of the limitation of the number of letters for oneline. In such a case, the arrangement section on the right side my bemade as the blank portion to allow the indication of the file IDinformation.

According to the above-described embodiments, as an example of arecording medium, the USB memory 32 connected to the USB port 10 isdescribed. This configuration is an exemplary one and can be modifiedsuch that any storage medium can be employed alternatively oroptionally. The storage medium need not be ones connected through theUSB port 10, but any type of medium which may be connected through aparallel communication port or serial communication port.

What is claimed is:
 1. An image forming apparatus, comprising: a dataretrieving unit configured to retrieve a plurality of pieces of indeximage data and a plurality of character strings from a recording medium,the recording medium storing a plurality of files respectivelyrepresented by the plurality of pieces of index image data and theplurality of character strings respectively relating to the plurality offiles; a counting unit configured to count, for each character string ofthe plurality of character strings, a number of all characters in theeach character string; a judging unit configured to judge, for eachcharacter string of the plurality of character strings, whether thenumber of all characters in the each character string is greater than apredetermined number; a data allocating unit configured to allocate eachpiece of the plurality of pieces of index image data and each characterstring of the plurality of character strings within a predeterminedlayout, the predetermined layout comprising a plurality of arrangementsections arranged next to another arrangement section of the pluralityof arrangement sections; a printer configured to print out the pluralityof pieces of index image data and the plurality of character stringsallocated by the data allocating unit on a printing sheet; and a layoutmodifying unit configured to modify the predetermined layout based on ajudgment result of the judging unit, wherein, when the judging unitjudges that the number of all characters in the each character string isnot greater than the predetermined number, the data allocating unitallocates the index image data relating to the each character string toa first area included in one of the plurality of arrangement sectionsand allocates the all characters in the each character string to asecond area included in the one of the plurality of arrangementsections, wherein, when the judging unit judges that the number of allcharacters in the each character string is greater than thepredetermined number, the layout modifying unit expands the second areawithout expanding the first area and changes a position of anarrangement section that is arranged next to the arrangement sectioncomprising the expanded second area, and the data allocating unitallocates the index image data relating to the each character string tothe first area and allocates the all characters in the each characterstring to the expanded second area, and wherein the printer prints outthe plurality of pieces of index image data allocated to the first areacomprised in an unchanged arrangement section and in the changedarrangement section, the all characters allocated to the non-expandedsecond area, and the all characters allocated to the expanded secondarea on one printing sheet.
 2. The image forming apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the plurality of arrangement sections are printed inrow and column directions in a matrix, and wherein the data allocatingunit comprises: a selecting unit configured to select a predeterminednumber of character strings; and an allocating system configured toallocate the predetermined number of character strings selected by theselecting unit to arrangement sections of the plurality of arrangementsections arranged on a same row.
 3. The image forming apparatusaccording to claim 2, wherein the layout modifying unit expands thesecond area in one of the row and column directions such that the allcharacters in the each character string are allocated within the secondarea.
 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein theselecting unit selects the plurality of character strings having similarnumbers of characters.
 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim2, wherein the selecting unit sorts the plurality of character stringsbased on a number of characters in each character string and selects thepredetermined number of character strings based on a sorting order. 6.The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the layoutmodifying unit changes a distance between the adjoining rows dependingon the number of characters of the character string.
 7. A non-transitorycomputer usable storage device having computer-readable instructionsstored thereon that instruct a computer to execute an image formingprocess comprising the steps of: retrieving a plurality of pieces ofindex image data and a plurality of character strings from a recordingmedium connected to the computer, the recording medium storing aplurality of files respectively represented by the plurality of piecesof index image data and the character strings respectively relating tothe plurality of files; counting, for each character string of theplurality of character strings, a number of all characters in the eachcharacter string; judging, for each character string of the plurality ofcharacter strings, whether the number of all characters in the eachcharacter string is greater than a predetermined number; allocating eachpiece of the plurality of pieces of index image data and the eachcharacter string of the plurality of character strings within apredetermined layout, the predetermined layout comprising a plurality ofarrangement sections, and each arrangement section of the plurality ofarrangement sections arranged next to another arrangement section of theplurality of arrangement sections and defined in a memory of thecomputer based on the judging; printing the plurality of pieces of indeximage data and the plurality of character strings on a printing sheet;modifying the predetermined layout based on a judgment result in thejudging step; wherein, when it is judged that the number of allcharacters in the each character string is less than or equal to thepredetermined number, in the allocating step, allocating the index imagedata relating to the each character string to a first area comprised inone of the plurality of arrangement sections and allocating the allcharacters in the each character string to a second area comprised inthe one of the plurality of arrangement sections, wherein, when it isjudged that the number of all characters in the each character string isgreater than the predetermined number, in the modifying step, expandingthe second area without expanding the first area and changing a positionof an arrangement section that is arranged next to the arrangementsection comprising the expanded second area, and, in the allocatingstep, allocating the index image data relating to the each characterstring to the first area and allocating the all characters in the eachcharacter string to the expanded second area, and wherein, in theprinting step, printing the plurality of pieces of index image dataallocated to the first area comprised in an unchanged arrangementsection and the changed arrangement section, all characters allocated tothe non-expanded second area, and all characters allocated to theexpanded second area on one printing sheet.